Press Releases, 15/11/2013 | Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

EU foreign ministers convene in Brussels

Press release 242/2013
15 November 2013

The EU Foreign Affairs Council will convene in Brussels on 18 November. Finland’s representative in the meeting will be Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. The topics on the meeting agenda include EU’s Eastern Partnership and Southern Neighbourhood, the Common Security and Defence Policy, preparations for the EU-China Summit, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

With respect to the EU Eastern Partnership, the Foreign Affairs Council will take stock of the final stages of preparation for the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit, to be held in Vilnius on 28–29 November, and the situation of the Association Agreements negotiated with partner countries.

The discussion concerning the Southern Neighbourhood will focus on the ever-worsening humanitarian situation in Syria and the progress made in the preparations for the Geneva II conference. The regional impacts of the situation in Syria on, for example, Lebanon and Jordan will also be highlighted. The ministers will also discuss Libya and the problems related to migration in the Mediterranean region in the light of the recent events, from the perspective of the Foreign Affairs Council.

The Foreign Affairs Council will also address the 16th summit between the EU and China, to be held in Beijing on 20–21 November. The summit is intended to reach an agreement on the priorities for cooperation for the next few years.

As regards Bosnia-Herzegovina, the ministers will debate the country’s political situation and potential EU measures in response to the postponement of key reforms.

In a joint meeting, the foreign ministers will discuss with defence ministers the preparations for the December 2013 European Council that is set to deal extensively with the development of the Common Security and Defence Policy and defence cooperation.